1. With every majesty of gentle words,
Fluent and most eloquent,

2. When fingers move upon it, it listens
As the Prophet listened to revelation,

3. And your bending distracted you from contention
As the bending of the feeble before the strong,

4. There you complained of what befell you
As the poor man complains unto the rich,

5. It falls apart while dangers slacken
It falls like the flank of a wounded gazelle,

6. And wine flows after sleep from it
On a platter of pure pearls,

7. You complained of the tyranny of its keeper over it
As the orphan complains of the trustee,

8. I have stolen beauties from it
That shine with the glow of hidden lightning,

9. Like the steeping of Indian aloeswood, then it faded
Like the fading of sunlight in the shade of evening,

10. And the pain of loss wounds my heart in it
Like the whip on the flank of a camel,

11. As if the night gained an added night,
Staying, so it lingered in melancholy.